The present invention relates to fluid delivery systems for biomedical applications, and, more particularly, to a valve-stopcock combination having a rotatable valve stem oriented in the same axis as the flow.
A large variety of fluid delivery systems exist for biomedical applications in the hospital and research laboratory environments. Directional flow in these systems is controlled by valves which are conventionally referred to as stopcocks. These stopcocks come in two-way, three-way, and four-way configurations. The stems in these configurations are usually oriented perpendicular to the axis of fluid flow.
Typical perpendicular orientation is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,186,437 and 4,819,684. Bored extended portions are coupled to a stopcock at a 90.degree. angle. By turning an actuator, the extended portion lines up with a perpendicular groove in the stopcock.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,068, a bi-directional catheter is described. This catheter includes a primary tube and a pair of branching tubes oriented at 45.degree. angles.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,442, an in-line sleeve valve is described. This valve allows a streamline flow by removal of a sealing plug from the valve opening. The flow is stopped by manually pushing the sealing plug back into the tubular sleeve.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,942, an in-line valve is shown having a valve controller disk. Turning of this disk controls the longitudinal displacement of a gate member which obstructs the valve flow.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,560,375 and 4,850,955 another valve control is described that can be surgically implanted. Although in-line, this valve operates by changing the thickness of a resilient membrane as opposed to mechanical operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,950 describes a valve connector that operates through a spring activated plate in the flow-path. The plate controls the valve operation in dependence on the pressure within the connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,797 describes a tap valve. A rotating actuator includes a channel which allows fluid communication between a throughput tube and tapping ports oriented at 45.degree. angles.
The aforementioned valves do not offer a streamline profile. Therefore, these systems can not be used in several physically restrictive applications. There is also a need for a stopcock-valve combination that is simple and economic in design and manufacture.